Create an effective homecoming routine at the start of the new school year.
You might not like it, but we all know that there is merit in routine.
You feel better when you stick to a regular sleeping schedule, you work better if you have a daily/weekly/monthly to do list and programme…
We are not saying some unscheduled days are wrong, but if you permanently live in a state of freestyle, chances are something is slipping through the cracks.
The same rings true for a home routine.
Think about the things that happen when you or your family need to leave the house in the morning.
Backpacks, lunchboxes, shoes, keys, sport gear or gym bag, electronics…These are the most common items that cause stress when they are not where they should be in the mornings when the clock is ticking and the coffee hasn’t kicked in.
Getting into a homecoming routine is one of the easiest ways for you to set yourself up for early morning success.
One way to achieve, and more importantly sustain such a routine is to use the layout of your house to make it second nature.
The entry-way of your house is by far the spot that gets the most daily traffic. (Probably only trumped by the path between the fridge and television, let’s be honest.)
Changing the layout of your entryway therefore can have a massive effect on your day.
Let’s think about what gets carried into your home each day.
Dirt and Germs
(Hands and soes are yucky, especially if you have kids.)
It’s a known fact that even relatively grown kids don’t necessarily practice impeccable bathroom hygiene when it comes to handwashing and school bathroom floors aren’t pristine germ-free surfaces. What does this mean for your house? Kiddo shoes and hands tracking in dirt and germs, contaminating even the best kept home. With flu season approaching, now is the time to make your homecoming routine a clean one. Get a shoe rack and leave your outdoor shoes on it. Not only will your floors stay cleaner, but you will know where the shoes are tomorrow morning. Secondly, consider setting up a sanitizing station. We did that during Covid, so why not keep up the good habit? Something as simple as a bottle of hand sanitiser on the hallway table can fight those first winter sniffles and keep the doctor at bay one more day.
Lunchboxes
The other thing that usually comes home is full, empty or empty-ish lunchboxes. They are then left in backpack until tomorrow morning, gently brewing that “old sandwich” smell that you know too well. Set up a tray or crate for the kids where they must place their lunchboxes or bags and then give an older kid or grownup the job of taking the container to the kitchen. If you want to totally revolutionise your mornings, wash and pack lunchboxes the evening before, putting all of them back in the entryway for easy collection the next morning.
Artworks and projects.
Schools are a breeding ground for arts and crafts, posters, scribbled stick figures, paper plate lions, newspaper kites and macaroni necklaces and if you have kids, they’ll bring enough of these home each term to gift wrap Table Mountain. As lovely and special as each of these are to their little creators, its just not sensible to try and keep everything. Have a separate container, drawer or box for these and sort it out every week or so, keeping what merits keeping and stealthily discarding the rest.
Work and school bags.
Next up is one of the biggest causes of clutter in your home. Schoolbags and backpacks. The easiest way to keep these organised is by getting them off the ground – whether you employ a cubby system, or simply put up some sturdy hooks along a wall, getting into the habit of stowing bags the moment you come into the house not only cuts down on floor and dining table cutter, but also ensures you know where the bag is. If your kids are older and need to do homework, have them store their bags in their rooms immediately…again – if you want to supercharge your mornings, teach your kids to also pack their backs the night before, and even set out their clothes for the next day)
The same goes for sport gear – nobody like the early morning hockey stick hide-and-seek.
Keys and electronics
This is for the grownups. “Have you seen my keys?” is probably said more in most households than “Have a good day” or “I love you”.
A dedicated key, cell phone and wallet tray might just be the best gift you can give yourself this year. If you want to do yourself even more favours, set up a charging station in the entry way and plug your phone in the moment you come home. By doing this and then walking away you’ll significant cut down on your phone time and might even end up looking your housemates in the eyes as you share lunch or chat about the day.
